Gun bills show skewed priorities in Tally: Editorial

There's a good reason why Florida's nicknames include "The Gunshine State." Year after year, the Legislature fires out misguided measures to make guns ever-more plentiful and easier to access.

The latest proposal from lawmakers would allow people to carry and conceal guns during state-ordered emergency evacuations, even if they don't have a permit. This means people who lack any training — or who have failed to meet the very minimal standards for a concealed-weapons permit — would be allowed to pack heat in times of crisis.

And we're supposed to believe this is all about public safety. Please.

It's more about kowtowing to the politically powerful National Rifle Association. The guns-in-hurricanes proposal is NRA-backed, which means lawmakers dare not change a comma.

Other bills backed by the gun lobby in recent years punish cities that attempt to place any restrictions on guns, punish pediatricians who ask parents about guns in the home and punish businesses that restrict firearms on their property. Another bill this year, awaiting Gov. Rick Scott's signature, expands the notorious "stand your ground" law to include warning shots.

According to a recent report in The Naples Daily News, the NRA has been especially ham-fisted in pushing the guns-in-hurricanes bill this year. Consider what happened after Terrence Gorman, attorney for Florida's National Guard, testified against the bill, saying untrained people shouldn't have weapons so readily available in high-stress situations. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer called a meeting with Scott's chief of staff and top attorney. Then the Guard's top official wrote a letter backing the bill.

Still, Hammer was not satisfied. In emails obtained by the Daily News, she told the governor's staff: "This letter is woefully inadequate and I do not accept this as part of the remedy to the damage done by Capt. Gorman." The NRA will do anything to promote Second Amendment rights, but when it comes to the First Amendment's right of free speech — as reflected in Gorman's honest testimony — that's another story.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Hammer also complained about the Florida Sheriffs Association's opposition to the bill. Apparently the sheriffs don't understand the Second Amendment.

The bills to let anybody carry a gun in an emergency look headed for passage in the House and Senate. For while the Legislature never seems to have enough time to finish all its important work during its annual session, it always makes time for another anything-goes gun law.